Peanuts #0Review

Share.

The Peanuts gang returns with fun for all ages!

By Poet Mase

Full disclosure: I didn't want to read this book. What can Peanuts offer me past the Schulz strips and the holiday specials? Been there, done that, right? Not so fast, my friends! This book is among the most charming books I've read in the last year. When you pin that to a $1 price tag, it's pretty much a no-brainer.

The book contains two brand new stories, a chapter of the forthcoming graphic novel, and four one-page classics from Charles Schulz himself. The impressive quantity of stories is enough to leave you feeling satisfied, even though each story is a lightning fast read on its own. The stories combine to give a good overview of the key players in the Peanuts world, with the Charlie Brown archetype laid out nicely, a firm establishment of Lucy's personality, and solid introductions to Snoopy, Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, and Linus. The football and Halloween themes are also highly relevant to the book's early November release date.

The cartooning is solid throughout, but Vicki Scott's pictures-only story starring Snoopy and Woodstock is worth special mention. It's easy to discern the storyline from the images, and there's genuinely entertaining humor to be found. Scott varies her frame layouts to good effect, controlling the reader's eye to tell the story at the proper pace. The visual simplicity and general readability of Scott's story, like the others in this short collection, mask the complicated sociological messages contained within.

It's hard not to recommend this book when you consider its approachability. The book is brightly colored, and it includes the classic Lucy van Pelt place kick trick, providing an appealing introduction for younger readers. Further, the $1 cover price makes it cheap enough to give to children, knowing that it will be shredded in short order, or to send as a whimsical gift to a grandparent. Those of us who are familiar enough with the franchise to recite some lines from The Charlie Brown Christmas will find it hard not to crack a smile in response to the heartwarming nostalgia. Simply put, there's no reason not to pick up this book on your trip to the comic shop or past the newsstand.